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Former WNCC volleyball coach to be cheering on Cougars
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WNCC Sports Information
Former Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Chris Green will be in a different role when he attends this week’s NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
After guiding the Cougars to their first championship in school history, Green took over as the head coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage last spring.
After leading Anchorage to a 15-13 record this season, Green will be scouting and cheering on a number of his former players this week.
“I will be there watching and I will definitely be cheering for them,” Green said. “They had a great season and I hope they play their best in Council Bluffs. It will be great to see them live. I will miss not being on the sideline coaching them, but I wish them the best of luck. Bringing home another national championship would be a great accomplishment.”
Despite his busy schedule in Alaska, Green found time to keep tabs on his former team throughout the season.
“I still follow them,” Green said. “It was crazy to see them unranked when the preseason polls came out. I am glad they showed everyone that they are a national title contender again. I think the hiring of Giovana [Melo] was a great decision. I think she will keep the program at the top as long as she coaches at WNCC.”
While Melo has WNCC hitting on all cylinders, Green had his new Seawolves program making vast improvements. The Seawolves finished the season 15-13 and upset regionally ranked Central Washington in five sets in their second to last match of the season. UAA also fell to No. 18 Western Washington in five sets.
The Seawolves enjoyed plenty of strong performances during the season as Calli Scott was named newcomer of the year in the GNAC conference. They also received a first-team selection in Rhea Cardwell, who tallied 62 kills in the final two matches of the season, as well as an honorable mention pick from Cortney Lundberg, a transfer from Miles Community College.
“The players here were anxious to win,” Green said. “You have to give them the credit for getting the job done. We actually lost four matches 15-13 in the fifth set, so our record could have been quite a bit better if we could have found a way to earn a point or two.”
Another player that contributed immensely to Green’s new team this season was former WNCC and Gering High School player Stacie Meisner. Meisner had over 500 digs from the libero position for the Seawolves.
“Stacie did a great job as a libero for us this year. She was a big reason why we were able to get the wins that we did,” Green said. “She has fit in well with all her teammates and did a great job in serve receive and on defense.”
Green is expecting even bigger things next year from his team.
“We brought in three good JUCO players in Stacie Meisner, Cortney Lundberg (Miles City) and Calli Scott (Glendale C.C.), but there was a pretty good group of players already here, too,” he said. “We were hoping for a winning season and we’re expected even more next year.
“We lose five seniors this year so we will be recruiting hard the next few months. But we have a good nucleus returning so I think we have a chance to be much better next season.”
Former Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Chris Green will be in a different role when he attends this week’s NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
After guiding the Cougars to their first championship in school history, Green took over as the head coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage last spring.
After leading Anchorage to a 15-13 record this season, Green will be scouting and cheering on a number of his former players this week.
“I will be there watching and I will definitely be cheering for them,” Green said. “They had a great season and I hope they play their best in Council Bluffs. It will be great to see them live. I will miss not being on the sideline coaching them, but I wish them the best of luck. Bringing home another national championship would be a great accomplishment.”
Despite his busy schedule in Alaska, Green found time to keep tabs on his former team throughout the season.
“I still follow them,” Green said. “It was crazy to see them unranked when the preseason polls came out. I am glad they showed everyone that they are a national title contender again. I think the hiring of Giovana [Melo] was a great decision. I think she will keep the program at the top as long as she coaches at WNCC.”
While Melo has WNCC hitting on all cylinders, Green had his new Seawolves program making vast improvements. The Seawolves finished the season 15-13 and upset regionally ranked Central Washington in five sets in their second to last match of the season. UAA also fell to No. 18 Western Washington in five sets.
The Seawolves enjoyed plenty of strong performances during the season as Calli Scott was named newcomer of the year in the GNAC conference. They also received a first-team selection in Rhea Cardwell, who tallied 62 kills in the final two matches of the season, as well as an honorable mention pick from Cortney Lundberg, a transfer from Miles Community College.
“The players here were anxious to win,” Green said. “You have to give them the credit for getting the job done. We actually lost four matches 15-13 in the fifth set, so our record could have been quite a bit better if we could have found a way to earn a point or two.”
Another player that contributed immensely to Green’s new team this season was former WNCC and Gering High School player Stacie Meisner. Meisner had over 500 digs from the libero position for the Seawolves.
“Stacie did a great job as a libero for us this year. She was a big reason why we were able to get the wins that we did,” Green said. “She has fit in well with all her teammates and did a great job in serve receive and on defense.”
Green is expecting even bigger things next year from his team.
“We brought in three good JUCO players in Stacie Meisner, Cortney Lundberg (Miles City) and Calli Scott (Glendale C.C.), but there was a pretty good group of players already here, too,” he said. “We were hoping for a winning season and we’re expected even more next year.
“We lose five seniors this year so we will be recruiting hard the next few months. But we have a good nucleus returning so I think we have a chance to be much better next season.”
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